In its first year on the road it clocked up 360,000km. How’s that for a great performance? J Swap Contractors’ fleet No.918 (Rego. BLW538), a 2003 Kenworth T404S (short hood) has proven its worth for 19 years and nearly three times around the clock. It still holds the company record for the most kilometres travelled in one year.

After completing 18 years of hard work, the J Swap workshop in Matamata rewarded No.918 with a full refurbishment.

Sporting a Caterpillar C15 with 500hp under the hood and running an Eaton Roadranger 18-speed manual gearbox with Meritor diffs, the unit is kitted out with Transfleet Trailers bulk bins.

No.918 has spent its life carting stock feed, grain, aggregate and other bulk commodities around most of the North Island. Current driver Shona Tipene-Merrin is following in her father Nigel Tipene’s footsteps, who was behind the wheel of this truck for many years.

With an impressive 2,797,870km under its belt, this KW can hold its ‘head high’, more than demonstrating its value within the company.